The wildest college football coaching cycle ever is about to enter a pivotal phase. After firings began at Power 4 programs in mid-September -- and, at Stanford , way back in late March -- the hirings are coming soon.

Programs will survey different candidate profiles, trying to identify the best available coach for their specific places. But there's one hiring process, and one candidate profile, that merits closer examination from just about any program.

Everyone should be trying to find the next Coach Cig.

Indiana 's hiring of Curt Cignetti from James Madison on Nov. 30, 2023, didn't seem seismic or unusual at the time. Other hires in the cycle generated more buzz, within the Big Ten (Jonathan Smith at Michigan State ) and beyond it (Mike Elko at Texas A&M ). The January 202

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